The Anger Of The Powerless

One thing no one can have failed to notice during the current economic crisis is how angry people have become. Another thing I’ve noticed is how unfocused that anger is. One day, it’s the bankers to blame. The next day, we’re angry at the politicians. The day after, we’re shouting about workers in the public sector having it easy. There’s a lot of rage out there but very little direction behind it.

What does this mean? I think it suggests we’ve become so infantilised by modern capitalism that our only response is, like most toddlers, to scream and shout when we feel powerless and boy do we feel powerless. But also like toddlers, we are easily distracted. Why is this? Because we have no obvious frames of reference of our own by which to judge what is going on and to decide what’s the best to do about it. As a result, governments are making huge decisions on our behalf which offer little, if any, positive outcomes for the majority of people they supposedly represent.

We’re being told these things are good for us because they are good for the banking sector and governments are doing their best not to explain any further or to present us with any possible alternatives. This is partly because they can’t bear to contemplate them either but also because they don’t want us to dare to choose something different.

Without any options or choices except those presented to us by governments and their friends in the banks, it’s no wonder we’re reduced to a state of impotent rage and so many of us lash out at anyone and everyone. This is what it means to be powerless and not in control of your life or destiny, just as it is for a toddler. Shout all you like but nothing will change.